Los Angeles (AFP)

The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, announced Friday that he intends to ban from 2024 the hydraulic fracturing, method of extracting hydrocarbons controversial for its impact on the environment, with the idea of ​​then gradually stopping all exploitation. oil by 2045 at the latest.

The most populous state and also one of the main oil producers in the United States, California would then become the first to stop all extraction.

The ban on hydraulic fracturing - about 2% of California's oil production - will be implemented by the state's natural resource management agency, which will stop issuing new permits no later than January 2024. .

Along with this measure, Governor Newsom asked the agency monitoring air pollution to examine ways "to gradually stop oil extraction throughout the state no later than 2045," said his services in a statement.

This goal ties in with California's efforts to fight climate change, including the goal of being "carbon neutral" for its economy by 2045 and Mr. Newsom's decision to ban the sale of new vehicles to heat engine by 2035.

"The climate crisis is real and we continue to see the signs of it every day," said the elected Democrat.

"As we are moving quickly to decarbonize our transport sector and create a healthier future for our children, I made it clear that I did not see the usefulness of hydraulic fracturing in the future and, similarly, I believe that California must be able to pass to the post-oil era, ”he explains in the press release.

Governor Newsom had previously said he did not have the power to ban fracking but was under heavy pressure from environmental activists.

Hydraulic fracturing involves extracting oil and gas trapped in the subsoil by injecting fluids at high pressure to fracture rocks.

The industry developed a lot in the years 2000 and 2010, making the United States since 2014 the world's leading oil producer.

The environmental and health costs are increasingly well documented: earthquakes on the one hand, and air and water pollution near farms, with health consequences for local residents, in particular asthma or cancers.

Not to mention that the leaks of methane into the atmosphere reinforce global warming.

© 2021 AFP